Articles
Inventory Management
The World is Your Warehouse, 2.0
Inbound Logistics regularly reports on the benefits of better linking demand to supply lines. Given the new and ever-growing crop of supply chain technology solutions delivering global visibility and ability to execute, we sometimes refer to the world as your warehouse. That’s why Apple’s patent #8,989,773 caught my eye. Granted on March 24, 2015, by […]
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Designing a New Strategy for a New Year
With the New Year upon us, retailers and manufacturers need to rethink their supply chains and find new ways to work together, according to the 2016 Future Supply Chain, a report from the Global Commerce Initiative and Capgemini. Here’s a look at some external and internal industry trends from a Lean perspective. It’s not hard […]
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Searching For the New Perfect Order
The growth of omni-channel retailing has driven a shift in what constitutes the “perfect order” — from a traditional, sequentially linear design to an exponentially more complex, interconnected model. It’s a shift driven by customer demand that requires the retailer to manage orders, shipments, payments, and returns within the retailing organization and across a vast […]
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How to Make Physical Inventory Counts Less Stressful
Small business owners may struggle finding time to interact with customers, let alone counting inventory and checking for inaccuracies in the warehouse. Although technology tools can help manage inventory, you must implement systems in-house that account for physical stock counting. Many product-based businesses will ditch the annual inventory count and opt for something a little […]
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Keeping Vendor Risk Under Control During the Holiday Season
‘Tis the season to be jolly. Yet, for logistics managers, ‘tis perhaps the most stressful time of the year. With businesses offering customers attractive deals and promises of just-in-time delivery, logistics managers are under tremendous pressure to make sure that customer orders are fulfilled in time. Nobody wants to see their name in front-page headline […]
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Supply Chain Integration + Collaboration = Time Travel?
Debunking these five myths helps retailers and manufacturers see the real value of dedicated returns management.
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Why Retailers Put Their Sleighbells on in May
The sun is shining and the weather is warm, yet the world’s top retailers are humming holiday tunes and preparing for the busy season ahead. Retailers often prep for holiday delivery logistics months in advance, but 2014 saw them beginning preparations earlier than ever—in May. And who could blame them? We all remember last year’s […]
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Critical Shipments: If I Only Had a Part
A twister hits. Someone drops a house on critical equipment. A service parts logistics manager must be a Wiz of a Wiz to balance time, location, and cost and fix whatever needs fixing—wickedly fast.
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From the Outside In: Supply Chain as Strategic Advantage
Even non-supply chain executives appreciate the value of flexible and agile operations.
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The New Retail: Three Legs to Stand On
Did you ever read a magazine or newspaper article and get the feeling that something was missing? It happened to me when I read several business press articles touting e-commerce as the savior of retailers. That "something’s missing" feeling bothered me as I read various vague descriptions of how e-commerce is the driving force behind […]
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New Retail Strategies: It’s a Store! It’s a Site! It’s a Warehouse!
E-commerce vendors and traditional merchants stake their claims in an evolving landscape.
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First Aid for the Hospital Supply Chain
Hospitals are aching to cut costs and increase efficiencies. Some supply chain management therapy might be just what the doctor ordered.
Read MoreDiving Into Multi-Channel Fulfillment
KaiKini Bikinis’ integrated inventory control and shipping operations solution brings savings that are anything but itsy bitsy teeny weeny.
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How the Internet of Things Impacts Supply Chains
When someone mentions the Internet of Things (IoT), most people think of electronics or wearables – the types of technologies that are driving adoption of a highly personalized “smart” consumer lifestyle. But there’s much more to the IoT story, and more specifically, its impact on the supply chain. Research firm Gartner recently released a write-up […]
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Optimizing the Fashion Supply Chain
The debate in fashion over inventory as an asset or a liability may never see an end. Only a few years ago, the CEO of one the largest fashion retailers in the United States said, “I’d rather lose sales than carry (risky) inventory.” What an incredible statement. The head of a major retailer willing to […]
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Senthil Arumugam: Building a Better Way
Senthil Arumugam is vice president of logistics and inventory management at US LBM Holdings, in Buffalo Grove, Ill. He has held this position since 2012. Responsibilities: Benchmarking best practices, implementing technology, consulting on supply chain and continuous improvement, developing mobile applications. Experience: Lean materials coordinator, Alliance Laundry Systems; senior Lean consultant, Caledonia Group; director, logistics […]
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Fight Inventory Pain Points
We’ve all experienced inventory management pains. Inaccurate inventory counts that cause mishaps, delays because of inaccuracy resulting in dissatisfied customers, costly end-of-year write-offs, and wasted time spent looking for lost inventory, are the most common pain points sited by businesses. While all these things can happen, the best part is, they don’t have to. There’s […]
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Bob Kalland Knows the Drill
Bob Kalland is inventory and logistics manager for Atlas Copco Mining and Rock (MR) Excavation, located in Commerce City, Colo. The company is a unit of Atlas Copco, a Swedish manufacturer of industrial tooling and equipment. He has held this position since 2011. Responsibilities: Managing all inventory and logistics for the MR business. Experience: Inventory […]
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Streamlining Inventory Through SKU Rationalization
While supply chain and logistics managers pursuing Lean operations generally seek to eliminate excess inventory, sales and marketing programs often lead companies to increase the volume of products they keep in stock. During the past few decades, the number of stockkeeping units (SKUs) retailers offer has soared. For example, in 1970, the average grocery store […]
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Leveraging Big Data
Think big – but start small – when mining big data to propel your supply chain forward.
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